Eye of the Beholder
by Jenny DeVic
Summary: After the battle with Algol, Shiryu and Shunrei must deal with the aftermath. With Shiryu at his lowest, can one of Dohko's quirky lessons set him straight? Originally written for SESA 2011.
1. Prologue

**Eye of the Beholder: Prologue**

**By Jenny DeVic**

**Original Date: December 25, 2011 for SESA**

Shunrei sat in the nearly empty waiting room, struggling to drink her bottled green tea that a sympathetic nurse had given her. Her hair was a mess, with several strands sticking out of place, but she didn't care. Right now, she had only one thing on her mind and that was that her greatest nightmare had come true, Shiryu was in the hospital after being gravely injured during a battle with someone called Algol of Perseus.

She was in her room painting at the time when Old Master, after sensing something terrible had happened to Shiryu, asked her to travel to Japan. She still couldn't believe how frightened Roshi seemed to be, but it was perhaps due to how accurate his instincts were to the point that dreams transfigured into reality.

The trip itself was a nightmare. The taxi that she took to reach Beijing got lost twice while her flight had a six hour delay due to a bird flying into one of the jet engines on the plane. However, the worst part was when she finally reached the Land of the Rising Sun, she found out that there was more than one Kido Hospital. She had to travel to at least seven of them before finding the one where he was at.

She managed to come in time for the surgery, but unfortunately the sight of the doctor slicing the thin layers of Shiryu's eyes was too much. The next thing she knew, she had found herself here in the lobby where a nurse was by her side telling her that she had fainted and offered her the drink. Shunrei asked the nurse if she could return, but the nurse said that if Shunrei didn't think that she can stay inside without fainting than it was best she remained there to allow the surgeon to focus on the delicate operation.

She drew a sleeve toward her face and pressed it against her eyes and using it to absorb the tears.

Suddenly a hand brought a tissue to her face. "[How are you feeling, Shunrei?]"

For a moment, Shunrei gasped as she looked up at his face. "[You... speak Mandarin?]" she muttered, hearing her native tongue.

The doctor, still wearing his surgeon's cap nodded, "[I'm actually from Shenyang and went to college in Beijing. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dr. Ko Kung.]"

Shunrei smiled. She was fluent in Japanese; she had to be with Shiryu when they were growing up and teaching him how speak with the nearby villagers. However she could communicate much better and more confidently in her own language. After that, her thoughts returned back to current predicament, "how is Shiryu?" She swallowed hard, "will he be able to see again?"

The doctor sighed. Television always seemed to exaggerate the limits of medical science. "Miss Shunrei, we weren't trying to save his eyesight, we were trying to save his life."

She gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth. "But, you did transplant his eyes?"

Doctor Kung "We did and the transplant itself was successful, but primarily on the cosmetic side." He reached for one of the chairs and pulled over in front of the girl. "It's not like any other organ where you can remove and insert a new one in. The nerve endings in the back of the eye are very complex and connect to the brain itself. When his fingers broke through the center of his eyes as well as the backs of them," he looked at her face as it slowly began to pale. "I'm sorry," he reached over and held her hand. "I'm doing my best to not be so graphic, but with the severity of the situation," before he could finish, Shunrei shook her head.

"No, its okay." She placed her hands on her thighs and summoned her courage. "Please, tell me more."

Doctor Kung nodded. "Of course. Anyways, the nerve endings of an eye are so complex that reconnecting all of the nerve endings and full restoration of eyesight is impossible without the body rejecting them. That's why most who lose their eyes receive glass eyes to put over the damaged one. Saori Kido offered an experimental laser that would allow us to at least reattach the nerves to the eyes. Shiryu will be able to open his eyes without pain or fear of further infection as well as retain the ability to move them in any direction. The laser is quite a leap in the field of ocularists."

Children were always the most difficult to drop the bad news upon. The only thought that ran through the surgeon's head was why did she have to be thirteen? He sighed. "Unfortunately, sight is beyond medical science right now. I'm sorry but your friend has a very tiny chance of ever regaining his sight, even at the basic level of seeing outlines and shadows." He watched her reaction as her eyes saddened so much. "But... there is a chance that he could recover. The body has been known for miracles. I've seen quite a few in my years here."

Shunrei's eyes closed as she felt the doctor place a small tissue in her hand. "Thank you," she muttered as she felt her shoulders tremble from the heartbreaking news that Shiryu will never be able to see again. She looked up, "can I see him?" The doctor nodded and that was all she needed. Quickly, she stood up and headed for the door that the Dr. Kung came out of.

She hurried down the hall, only slowing down at each room to get a quick glance inside to find him. Suddenly, around the corner, the bright red shirt of Seiya came into view, causing her feet to move faster. "Seiya!" she cried and waved her hand.

The Pegasus Saint's head raised and turned to her. "Shunrei!" He rushed to her side and grabbed her hand, "Come on! They gave Shiryu a sedative, he'll be asleep soon. Man, he'll be so excited to see you!" He shouted as the two passed Shun, Hyoga, and Saori leaving the room. Seiya frowned as a nurse stepped outside, waving her hand to discourage any more visitors for the night. "Crap!" he calmly cursed. Undeterred, Seiya simply came over to begin talking to her about a strange patch of moles on his arm while swinging Shunrei past him and letting go.

For a moment Shunrei stood there, surprised at how smooth Seiya was when it came to creating a _diversion_. After that, the light hum of electronic instruments caused her to return back to her true purpose. She gazed at a long curtain surrounding a bed. She spotted the morphine next to the bed, feeling her pace slow with increasing hesitation. She heard a slight moan before approaching the side where an electric monitor sat, beeping away. She gazed at his face, as several bandages were covering his eyes while the skin around his face looked a little dark and bruised.

"Shunrei?" he whispered.

The Chinese girl gasped as she held her hands. "Shiryu, how did you know?" she asked as a small voice in her head began to whisper of hope that a miracle, as the Saints were known for, had come. After all, Seiya did restart Shiryu's heart after their terrible match at the Galaxian Wars and the time when Shiryu had to give up all his blood to resurrect the Pegasus and Dragon Cloths and came back fine. Perhaps Shiryu would be just fine here? Perhaps Shiryu could see through the thin fabric of the bandages and all would be normal again.

But at that moment, Shiryu's hand reached out and despite her standing there, his hand swiped around, touching the folds of the blanket before reaching out and flinching when his forearm bumped into her hip. "I... smelled lilies... you always wore that same perfume... lilies... you like it," he muttered as if he was trying to stay awake while trying to find her hand.

**Next Chapter: May 12, 2012**


	2. Chapter 1

**Eye of the Beholder : ****Chapter One**

"Shiryu, we're going down the path from the main road to the cabins. If you extend your foot out, you can feel several rocks that I laid along the edge." Shunrei spoke as she held his hand and slowly guided him while carrying his suitcase.

Shiryu nodded, "thank you. That's a good idea." He took a moment to lightly chuckle, "I was afraid of was that I'd just wander into the woods every time I go outside," he spoke as he took a stick that Shunrei gave him and ran it against the stones, listening to the sharp taps of the end striking each of the round stones.

Shunrei smiled, "Dr. Kung gave me a list of suggestions of what I can do to make it easier for you move around here."

"But all these stones must have taken a lot of work. You'd have to go around gathering them and bringing them back here." This was something that he would have no trouble with, but Shunrei was so delicate and that it made him sad that she had to deal with all the labor involved by herself.

"It's okay. It is a onetime thing and worth not having you _wander into the woods_." She smiled sweetly for a moment before remembering the reality of his lost vision. She saddened for a moment, but perked up. "You should see what I did for your room, come on!" she spoke as she pulled him a bit faster until they reached the outside of the house. "Here, feel this."

Shiryu felt his hand being guided and lowered down until he felt a beam. He then slowly moved his foot a bit forward until his silk shoe bumped into something wooden and hollow. "You put a railing where the stairs are, thank you," astonished at how much work she really did.

"Of course, I want to make everything as easy as possible. You won't even have any trouble finding the door either."

Shiryu didn't quite understand what she meant by this until he followed the rail up to the top where the porch and realized that it kept going. He followed it over until it his own body accidentally ran into the door.

"Come on, I'll guide you." Shunrei spoke as she took his hand once more. She opened the door and took him into his room.

Once Shiryu removed his shoes, expecting the bamboo floor, he immediately felt something soft and warm beneath his feet, "carpet?"

"Yes, do you like it? I thought it would be a wonderful way for you to find where your bed and your dresser at. The really soft carpet leads to the bed while the flatter carpet will take you to your clothes." Shunrei turned toward Shiryu to see a slightly disgruntled look on his face. "Shiryu, what is wrong?"

Shiryu bit his lip, "it's nothing." He stood there, his head lowered. "Shunrei, I should probably take that medicine that Dr. Kung sent me and rest."

Shunrei reached into her purse and pulled out a large plastic bottle. "That sounds like a good idea." She giggled, "I remember the first time you took this, you were swaying back and forth. Seiya even asked if someone slipped wine in your IV." She took out two large pink capsules and placed them in Shiryu's palm. She watched him put both of them in his mouth, impressed that he was able to swallow them despite them being the size of kidney beans before he laid down. "I'm going to go make lunch. If you go out the door and back to the stairs, I made a rope path. That leads to the main house where the food will be."

Shiryu waited until the sounds of her feet faded followed by the closing of a door. He laid in his bed and rested his hands on his stomach. While he was already feeling the effects of the medicine, it was his thoughts that we're making him feel dizzier than usual.

"Welcome home."

"Old Master?" Shiryu muttered as he heard a voice that he hadn't heard since he left the Five Peaks to travel to Jamir and fix the Dragon and Pegasus Cloths. He turned in the direction of it, but felt the bitter sadness of his ailment overcoming him. His teacher would always wear a dingy Chinese hat that he said his father gave him as a youth. He always wore an old green robe where the fabric has grown so thin, that if his skin wasn't dark purple, a person could would be able to see right through it. Not everything on him was decrepit, his clean white beard and long mustache, that he liked to stroke every time he was either thinking, were always well maintained. This was the image of his master, but like everything else from the sky above to his own hands, it was all just a memory of what they looked like.

Shiryu listened to the soft shuffle of his teacher's robes followed by the heavy thumping of a cherry wood cane guiding him down. He sat up and faced the direction of where he believed it was coming from. "Old Master?" he asked again.

"Shiryu, I'm right here." Spoke Dohko. He watched as Shiryu waved his hands around. Dohko reached up as high as he could and tugged his pant leg. He smiled as Shiryu lowered down and hugged him. That was the one thing he enjoyed about his student that he truly was the perfect definition of a _gentle dragon_. Dohko looked up to see his student's face. "What's wrong Shiryu? Aren't you happy about being home?"

Shiryu nodded, "of course. I've been thinking of you and Shunrei since I left for Jamir. I'm just a little worried that _this_ is going to be my life!"

Dohko looked around with a clueless expression on his face. "What do you mean by that? This is your room, and Shunrei did a wonderful job straightening it up, even if you've never had any problems keeping things in their place."

Shiryu looked down at where the floor would be. He took his foot and dragged it over the hardwood floor and onto the carpet. "These paths... there are now rocks to show me where the road is... a guard rail for the door, the carpet for my furniture? I feel like I just got here and everyone is just leading me hand over hand over everything." He muttered.

Dohko lightly gasped before following it up with a chuckle, "I thought the last of his proud nature died when he fought Seiya in the Galaxy Tournament," the old Chinese man thought before tossing his cane up on the bed before the tiny man leaped effortlessly beside his student. "Are you afraid that you'll be treated as if you're helpless? I assure you that that won't be the case once you choose to restart your training." The small man picked up his cane and rested upon it, "in fact, you'll wish you were back in that nice comfortable hospital bed being fed by a pretty nurse three times a day," he chuckled once more giving a gentle poke of his cane on Shiryu's left side.

"It's good to hear that from you, I just wish that Shunrei is the same way." Shiryu attempted to face his Master, to show he was paying attention, but all he saw was more darkness. "It's very nice of her to go through all of this work to make things... comfortable... it's just..."

Dohko nodded, "you feel like you're capable of doing much more... that Shunrei is just underestimating your ability to do things on your own... you feel like you are being pitied than anything else?"

"Exactly... I don't need carpet placed in specific places to find my bed." Shiryu shook his head. "For a brief moment, when I was fighting Algol... I actually saw him through my cosmos, or at least his outline. Ever since then, when I was recovering, all I can think about was just... _getting_ back to that level... but all the time."

Dohko took his hand and touched Shiryu's shoulder. "The cosmos is truly amazing, isn't it? While, it is through an adrenaline rush and your desire to help your friends that allowed your cosmos to peak to a level and grant you special type of sight, it's good to hear that you have a goal you wish to attain. Truly, I was worried that you would come here and sit in self pity, but I'm glad that it is not the case." He paused for a moment to think before raising his head. "Although, there is nothing wrong with being unable to see."

Shiryu gasped. "If I can't see, I can't fight..." before he could finish he felt a firm whack on his head.

"_If I can't see, I can't fight!_" Dohko parroted with a dull idiotic intonation. "BAH! Every time I think you're ready to go out into the world on your own, you say something stupid that makes me think otherwise!" The tiny hermit grumbled. "Very well, Shiryu, if this is what it takes then so be it."

Shiryu felt a bit of fear as his master said that. Anytime his teacher acted like this, it meant he was going to give him some sort of weird challenge to complete. The worst part about it is that his Master doesn't even tell him why he would have to perform the feat until after it is completed. Suddenly he heard his Old Master rummaging in his pocket and before pulling something out.

"Shiryu, in my hand is a folded origami flower that Shunrei made for me while you were out. I want you to tell me what color it is. There is also a new painting that Shunrei had actually finished."

"A painting? I didn't know she did that?" asked Shiryu. He knew she liked to walk around the forest and embroidery. "When did she start painting?"

"That's a silly question. If she wasn't doing it when you were here, than obviously she must have started after you left! She was frightened when she heard you were fighting black Saints and so I told her not to worry and to go take up a new hobby. She did. She even completed two others." Dohko didn't want to mention that even when Shunrei would finish, she would go back to praying endlessly by the waterfall. Shiryu had enough to worry about. "Anyways, please complete these two tasks by tomorrow. The first task will be very tough for you, but the second shouldn't be that bad."

Shiryu felt his Old Master place the origami flower in his hand before feeling the mattress wobble around from his teacher jumping off. He waited until the little old man to hobble out of there and shut the door. "The color of this flower?" he muttered. "What did he mean by, _the first task will be tough for you, but the second shouldn't be that bad_?"

He looked down, to see nothing but total darkness. He couldn't even see his own hands, let alone the color of paper that Shunrei used. He didn't even have any depth perception. Everywhere he turned, all he saw was darkness as if he was always falling in a deep hole, the strong medicine didn't help either.

He opened his now dull green eyes, the iris color now muted due to the effects of the surgical lasers used during his operation. He focused hard on the flower and summoned his cosmos. Emerald flames danced around him as he focused it all toward his eyes.

He still could recall every single detail of the moment he took his fingers and directed them toward his face. Everything around him darkened and blurred while the tips of his index and pointer fingers came toward him like the bright light at the end of a tunnel before a crushing sickening sound followed. He couldn't remember the pain, but rather the wetness that followed. At first he thought it was his tears only to realize it was his own blood.

He remembered standing there, realizing that even though he was immune to the effects of the Medusa shield, Algol was probably even more dangerous now that he couldn't see where he was at all. Then a light came through, that of Athena. In the darkness, the outline of Algol was clear, allowing him to take the Silver down.

Ever since then, there had been nothing but darkness and hope that he would be able to see again, or at least see the outlines of others. He focused hard in the direction of the origami flower, desperate to distinguish the color of dandelions, resolute for a rose, embrace a blurry bluebell or perhaps pinpoint a purple lilac. But despite his cosmos flaring enough to lightly singe his sheets all he saw was the same darkness as before.

The green flickering flames faded around him. Shiryu laid down, feeling dizzy from the medicine and the overuse of his cosmos, still with the piece of origami in his hand. He'll try again later.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Chapter 2 and Epilogue

**Chapter Three**

Shunrei hurried outside of Shiryu's room. "Why is he late for dinner?" she spoke as she turned to the railing and toward the deep shaded forests "I hope he isn't lost!" she gasped, as she hurried toward Shiryu's door and knocked desperately. "Shiryu!" she called out.

"Shunrei?"

The Chinese girl breathed a sigh of relief as she heard his voice. "Oh Shiryu, thank goodness you are there! I thought you were lost!"

Inside, shirtless and sweating hard, Shiryu rested on the edge of the bed. "No, I've just been working on something that Old Master asked me to do," he spoke as he picked up his latest clothing causality from burning his cosmos too much.

"You're still doing that?" asked Shunrei. She remembered that after lunch, he bolted back to his room and asked her not to come inside, until he had finished. Hopefully whatever the Old Master's request was, it wasn't too hard.

Shiryu turned his head, "yes. Listen, go ahead and start without me. I'm actually still stuffed from lunch."

Shunrei nodded. "Alright... well... good luck with... whatever you're doing."

He sat there, leaning on his elbows, listening carefully to the sound of Shunrei's footsteps fading into the distance before lying back down on his bed. His dull eyes stared at the darkness toward what he assumed was his ceiling. "Why is he asking me to do this?" He spoke to himself as he traced the sharp creases of the flower. "I just have to name the color of this. This is supposed to be easy? Three year old children are asked to name the colors of objects but..." a small tear fell from his eye. "_I can't,_" he whimpered.

The day is almost over and he still had yet to name the color of the origami flower. If he can't do that, how could he even tell Old Master what Shunrei _painted_? He even tried to feel the shape of the flower and knew it was a rose, but roses came in many colors and he wouldn't know if Shunrei used just a random piece of paper to make it.

He reached his hands over his face, and used his fingers to wipe the ducts at his face. It would be easy to think that his teacher was giving these tasks to make him understand that he was blind and he couldn't do everything a person with sight could, like appreciate color. However, it seemed like the two tasks were triggered over the fact that he mentioned he couldn't fight because he was blind. The Old Master was far too honorable to create such a lesson that would leave him in even more despair just to prove he was right.

Shiryu stepped over the side of the bed and used the bottom of his feet to find the carpet. He walked over and followed it to his dresser. While he did feel like the carpet paths were going a bit far in terms of help, they really did make things more convenient to find. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a new shirt to put on. Luckily for him, everything was buttoned thus eliminating the embarrassment of having his clothes on backwards.

He went outside. He then followed the rope and just like lunch time, he ran down the path until his hand reached the first wooden post. It was at that moment, he slowed down, knowing that the stairs were coming up. The moment he opened the door, a flurry of different smells came at him like a good Ryu Sei Ken to the face. "Wow!" he muttered.

"Shiryu, do you like it?" spoke his Old Master from somewhere in the room.

Shiryu nodded as he slipped off his shoes and walked on the floor slowly, reaching out until he found the backside of a chair. "It smells like grilled perch with soy sauce," he turned his head a little bit, "rice... and some bean soup..."

Shunrei giggled, "very close. It is actually-"

"Wait!" Shiryu interrupted, "tofu soup!"

The Old Master smiled pleased that Shiryu's senses were adjusting without his sight, "very good Shiryu. Your sense of smell has seemed to improve," he said as he sat by his bowl and small plate of untouched food.

"Well, I really like grilled perch and we always have rice every day," shrugged Shiryu as he took his hands and slowly brought them forward to find the edge of the table before sliding them over where his chopsticks were usually placed.

Shunrei immediately grabbed his plate and began to put some fish and rice on top of it before handing it back. "Old Master, what exactly are you having Shiryu doing this time for his tasks?"

Dohko took his spoon and sipped some soup. Time was running out for Shiryu to provide an answer. "Oh, you'll have to _ask_ him."

Shiryu raised his head as he heard this. He looked down in his pocket where the origami flower was in. Feeling embarrassed that he can't do something as simple as name its color he simply turned away to his food, "it's nothing too important."

Shunrei's face dropped a bit, "Oh... well.." she muttered, "I thought it was since you seemed so absorbed in doing..." she paused, "...whatever it is."

Dohko sat there and watched the two teens sit there a bit uncomfortably. While most Masters in the Army of Athena don't like it when their students develop any relationships with each other, he was the opposite. He had no problem with it though. If he was allowed to train them till they are near death, surely there is no problems with him playing matchmaker either. He knew a good catch for a son and Shiryu would make a good husband for Shunrei, even if he didn't make it as a Saint. Perhaps being over two hundred years old was finally causing him to think _old _now and was causing him to desire a grandchild to spoil. Unfortunately for him, Shunrei is too shy, and Shiryu can't read signals that someone liked him. "Shunrei, Shiryu didn't know that you took up painting recently."

Shunrei looked up, "oh, I guess I forgot." She shrugged. "They aren't very good. Although, I wish I would've showed them to you earlier since," She looked down as she noticed Shiryu leaning forward a bit in anticipation, "...I you now can't really see them anyways."

Shiryu sat there quietly, hearing her sad tone. Nothing made him more upset for anyone to hurt her, especially if he did it, regardless if it was an accident, "I'll try."

The girl was shocked, unaware that Dohko was smiling. "You will?" she asked.

He nodded, "when I fought Algol, I saw him for a brief moment. Maybe if try hard, I'll see it again. I would really like to see what you made." Even if his Old Master didn't give him the task, he truly was curious as to what she made. "We can go after dinner, is that alright?" he asked, hoping that his head was facing in her direction.

"Yes, that sounds nice."

**Chapter Four**

Shunrei's room had a very bold flowery smell to it. While to Shiryu, it seemed like Shunrei liked to put on light perfumes, her room was so strong that he wondered if she slept on a bed made of potpourri.

"Shiryu, do you want me to guide you?" the girl asked.

Shiryu looked up. "Shunrei?"

"What is it?"

"While I appreciate the offer, you don't have to make a path for me, to get around. While it is nice, the thing is, I will have to go to other places that will have me guide myself. I would rather use home to practice this," he finally admitted. He waited there as silence filled the air. He really hoped he hadn't hurt her, but if he didn't mention something, he was worried Shunrei would construct paths around the Five Peaks.

"Oh, why didn't you say something earlier? I didn't realize I was being overly helpful," she muttered.

Shiryu waved a hand, unaware that Shunrei was in the other direction. "Don't worry about it. I like you helping me and if I could have it my way, I wouldn't mind if you held my hand everywhere we went." He chuckled.

Unknown to him, Shunrei blushed at that last part, as she wondered if she was looking into his words too deeply or if it was just a cute little slip up. She hoped that her doing all of this didn't make her seem too _motherly _or worse_, sisterly_. If he really wanted to do it by himself, she'll do her best to see that it will happen. "Alright, I'll go over here beside where they are at and you can either follow my voice, or just walk to the end of the room."

He listened to her steps before he slowly made his way forward. The worst part was that he knew she had a number of priceless vases sitting on tiny tables, like the devil had designed the room for this one moment. He moved carefully hoping he didn't make any mistakes that would make him regret not taking her offer about guiding him to them. Suddenly his finger touched the cool porcelain of a doll that she kept on a pedestal by her bed. He pulled away and moved his hands downwards to trace the side of the pedestal before moving forward, reaching over to touch the end of her bed and following it. If she didn't move her furniture around, he knew that her bed was in the corner. He reached up and finally touched the side of the wooden wall. His fingers moved up and down until he felt a small frame.

"Shiryu, you did it!" Shunrei cheered as she walked up next to him.

Shiryu nodded as he placed his other hand over the other side of the frame and faced forward. "Burn my cosmos." He thought as he summoned it once more toward his head, causing his long black locks to wave up and down. "I want to see Shunrei's painting! Please Athena, I don't care if I must see nothing but darkness for the rest of my life, but let me see at least one of her paintings!" he thought as he focused as hard as he could, praying that Athena heard his cry and give him that boost that he had before. He gritted his teeth and gasped as an outline began to form. "I'm seeing it!" he muttered.

Shunrei looked at him, "really! You can see it!"

Shiryu opened his dull green eyes and focused harder. Sweat dripped down the side of his face while his shirt shredded into tiny scraps. Suddenly a sense of disappointment began to fill him. The only thing he could see was the outline of a giant rectangle, but not the painting itself. The flame of his cosmos subsided as his body relaxed. "I can't..." he muttered and sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"Shiryu, it's okay, you tried and that's all that matters." Shunrei spoke as she held her hands.

Shiryu shook his head. "I want to make her happy!" he thought. He was lucky to have such a wonderful friend with him on the Five Peaks. He leaned his hand, gasping as he realized it was on the picture itself. Before he turned away, it was then he noticed the picture itself had texture. He came closer and ran his hands over it. He touched what felt like a really long stroke and followed it down before doing it once more. "The strokes are really smooth." He moved a hand at the top and rubbed his thumb, "I think its hair. The strokes are very tiny but in the same direction, but they aren't too straight... this feels like a head... and it has a long body... four legs... did you make a horse?"

Shunrei gasped. "It is! It is actually my second painting I made. It's really ugly. There is no shading or anything. I feel like I only used one shade of brown."

"No, it feels nice... you gave it a background of flowers... didn't you? They really feel like flowers... and you even added texture to the pods."

Shunrei smiled, "thank you." She shrugged, "I didn't realize I made them feel like that. I just wanted to make the flowers look like they have pollen for the bee in there."

Shiryu reached over and traced it a long flying path before coming across the insect, "you gave it a really big stinger."

"I know, it's so ugly, it looks like a cartoon bee, and not realistic. I think my latest looks a little more real, but I don't like it either!" she blushed.

Shiryu began to follow along the side of the wall. "Is it this way?"

Shunrei walked over and grabbed his hand. "This way," she spoke as she pulled his hand, determined not to allow him to feel her first monstrosity of what was supposed to be a mouse eating cheese, but resembled a whale with a giant zit. She brought him over to the third painting let go to allow him to feel his way to it.

Shiryu reached over and began to run his fingers slowly over it. There was a definite improvement over the first. This one had far more texture and a lot more subtle details. "The strokes are very fine on the outside of it... but smooth in the middle." He ran his hands a little more down, "here it's like two little jewels in a crevice. "He moved his hands downwards, "it's smooth again, like peaches... his thumb ran down until he felt a large line. He ran it over, feeling the line grow larger. He moved his hands outwards and used the pads to feel past the smooth section, "it's like the horse's hair. You used smaller thinner strokes... I thought it was a vase, up until this point."

Shunrei shook her head until she remembered he wouldn't be able to see her expression. "No, it's not a vase." She watched as he stroked the picture repeatedly, investigating the small tiny details. "He really likes it?" she thought to herself, before she watched him turn around. "So, do you know what it is?" then she noticed his hands fidgeting a bit. "What's wrong?"

Shiryu looked down, "Shunrei, at the hospital. They said that because I was totally blind, that if I wanted to know what someone looked like. I would use my hands and feel their face. Dr. Kung even had me practice on him. Could I..." he asked as he held his hands out.

Shunrei turned a bit red at the question. "Okay..." she spoke as she reached for his hands to show her where she was at. Her cheeks blushed a bit as she felt his hands touch her face for the first time. She closed her eyes, feeling his thumbs lightly stroke her cheeks before sliding around to her ears before he slowly ran them through her silky hair. She watched as he came up closer. She closed her eyes, as she felt him rub his thumb lightly over her eyebrows and gently over her eyelids. "He smells really nice... like a clean shower," she thought as she stood there with her eyes shut. It was then; she felt his thumbs rub down the bridge of her nose. Her heart began to beat a little faster as he pulled his thumbs further over her lips. She knew it was his fingers, but it almost felt like he was pressing his lips against hers.

"They're so soft," Shiryu thought, as he took his thumbs and felt her lips once more. He felt her body shiver for a brief moment, before he bashfully pulled his hands back. "You, made a self portrait, didn't you," he spoke, hoping he wasn't embarrassing himself down below.

Shunrei opened her eyes and smiled, "it is, so... my eyes are like jewels and my skin like peaches?" she said in a half joking manner.

Shiryu reached over and touched the painting. "Yes... it's really well done. You shouldn't say its ugly, because it's not... it's very beautiful."

**Epilogue**

Old Master sat on his rock outside, with his hands on his lap. He looked up to see his student coming toward him, assuming he managed to find him with the loud waterfall from behind. "Well Shiryu, how was Shunrei's art?"

"It was really nice. I actually have the answer to your questions."

Dohko raised his head. "Do you? Well tell me, what did you find out?"

Shiryu sat down. "She made a painting of her herself."

"How did you know?" asked the teacher.

Shiryu held his hands, "I felt it. The paint on a canvas is very thick and I just traced it out, and I was able to see the picture in my head. Not only that, but like any artist, she would paint from her memories and her heart, and knowing what she liked, helped narrow things down."

"Ah, you used your other senses beyond the fifth?"

Shiryu nodded, "I did. I tried to see it with my cosmos, but it was just too much work."

The old man chuckled, "I bet it was. Using your cosmos for sight is a terrible waste, when you have four other senses at your disposal. A true warrior does not give up in a fight because the spear tip of his weapon breaks. He uses what he has left, stabbing with the broken end or striking with the weight of the wood, making effective use of it. Make no mistake; although you were a blind man, you are just as capable of appreciating art, in your own way."

Shiryu nodded. He figured there was to be a less somewhere in this. He had been with his teacher for over six years and knew his tricks well. "The other task was the origami, I unfortunately couldn't see the color, so I asked Shunrei and she told me it was yellow." He shrugged. "I'm sorry that I couldn't figure it out myself."

Dohko stroked his beard, "weren't you listening. I said a true warrior makes use of what he has left. If all you had was a friend to ask, you are still making use of your resources around you," he frowned before he began to chuckle and wave a finger, "of course, I did have a feeling you still have a little bit of your cockiness that Seiya had yet to beat out of you from the tournament, that you wouldn't think of the solution. I did tell you the origami would be much more difficult, didn't I?" he grinned. "So, will you be ready to try and do some training tomorrow?"

Shiryu blushed, "well, actually, Shunrei asked me if I could pose for her painting tomorrow." He held his hands together, "I could ask her if we can do it another day."

Dohko's eyes widened, "no no! You need more time to recover from the trip. I think a day of posing would be marvelous."

"Master, are you sure?" asked Shiryu.

The old Chinese man waved his cane in the air. "Of course! Will just either postpone training for a day or if there is extra time, do it later that night."

Shiryu bowed before him. "Thank you, Master. I really appreciate this," he said as he rose up and headed back to his room.

Dohko stroked his beard and grinned as he thought of the day he managed to convince Shion to give Yuzariha flowers. "Ah I still got it," the Chinese matchmaker thought.

**The End**

**Author's Notes: One of my favorite moments in the anime was definitely the part where Shiryu was first blinded. The amount of character development from Shiryu, Shunrei as well as the other bronze Saints dealing with it was phenomenal and had yet to be repeated on such a grand scale. As such, when I received the request to create a Shunrei/Shiryu romance, I immediately thought of this period. **

**At work, I've actually worked one on one with the blind as well as the huge challenge of blind/hard of hearing children so writing about Shiryu and Shunrei adapting to it was easy as well as Chinese life due to repeated trips to Southeast Asia. The hard part was the prologue since I had to do research on eye surgery itself.**

**I've always supported Shiryu/Shunrei shipping and so when I wrote this, I could see them ending up together and possibly having children. When Saint Seiya Omega was announced, I was shocked and thrilled that it became canon and what was simple wishful thinking on my part here, became reality (as well as any others who supported the pairing).**

**I know this is an old fic, but after two years of writing one fic, I needed something easy to break out of that frame of mind to write other stuff. Because my next fic, as per request by bronze andromeda shun will focus on Ryuho, a boy who if you dye his hair green looks like Shun, but after examining his character, is quite different. Until next time.  
**

**Jenny D**


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